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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189029">The Cold Of The Mind</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitPath/pseuds/MoonlitPath'>MoonlitPath</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Uncharted (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Demon Summoning, Blood and Gore, Brotherly Bonding, F/M, Family Bonding, Horror, I hope I scare you, Nightmares, Paranormal, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:54:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,485</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189029</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlitPath/pseuds/MoonlitPath</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sam said he would spend his holiday with Nathan and Elena, he did not mean fighting with demons and struggling with what's real and what isn't.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nathan Drake &amp; Samuel Drake, Nathan Drake/Elena Fisher</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my attempt at a longer Fanfic. This kind of horror territory is new to me, so I hope I do well enough to give you the creeps. Also, I should state that I'm not sure how long the story will be, I'm guessing around 7 chapters, but then again, who knows.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sam Drake entered the antique shop with intrigue, his denim jacket carried small sprinkles of snow as they had just started falling out of the winter sky, festive settings all around the city and smiles painted on peoples’ faces as they spent time with their loved ones. He had come back from his last journey, which was not as exciting as he had hoped, but it gave him a good pay and that was okay with him, chances were he would get something better in the near future. Moreover, now that it was done, an invitation from his brother to spend his holiday with them came well enough, jolly Christmas for the first time in a long time.</p><p>  He smiled at the man that sat behind the small counter, rubbing his hands in the newfound warmth of the place, his eyes going over the pretty items that were carefully displayed and cleaned thoroughly. A sign that said ‘Touch with care’ in messy letters, targeted for those who had a tendency in being rough. He went through rings, coins, necklaces. Silver statues of animals and intricate bells. He dodged some hanging trinkets, as his head would have bumped them.</p><p> “Is there something specific that you’re looking for?” The man asked him, an upturn in his lips that went unnoticed.</p><p> “Well, uh, I am looking for something to give as a present. Not sure what.” Sam watched as the man hummed to himself.</p><p> “May I ask about their interests?”</p><p> “Well, my sister-in-law is a journalist.” The man’s face lit up in an instant, excusing himself as he hurriedly went to search through some boxes in another room, out of Sam’s view. Moments later, he returned, in his arms a bulky leather suitcase. He placed it on the surface of his desk and motioned for him to approach, unlatching the clasps that kept it closed. Sam examined the old machine pleasantly, a typewriter from the late thirties with a black polished look. </p><p> “A journalist usually has interest in writing. This beauty right here is working in perfect condition, I made sure of that. Otherwise, it may serve as decoration.” The man confidently said, patiently waiting as Sam inspected the machine, seemingly liking the idea of getting this as a present for Elena. </p><p> “How much is it?” </p><p> “Seventy dollars.”</p><p> “Only seventy?” Sam exclaims in surprise, knowing well enough that things like there were a chance to get a whole lot of money out of you.</p><p> “It’s been sitting here for a long time, it’s time it finds a home.” Sam took out his wallet to pay, not thinking twice about this purchase. He left the store with the case by his side, grinning at the successful find. The man in the store sighed, seemingly relieved. </p><p> </p><p> As the cab departed, leaving him with his baggage on the pavement, he looked back to the house Nate lived in. He walked up to the threshold with his bags and knocked on the door, a thin layer of snow was laid on the ground after a couple of hours, which had gone by without much fuss. </p><p> The door opened, light flooded out, where their surroundings slowly turned a deep grey with the help of clustering clouds. Nate hugged him cordially, assisting him with his things.</p><p> “Sam, how are you?” Elena said as she came close to greet him, wrapping her arms around him as she pulled him to the living room.</p><p> “Oh, you know, great. Last job was kind of a bummer though.”</p><p> “Why is that?”</p><p> “Nothing exciting happened, almost fell asleep standing.” He sat on the couch, sighing tiredly. </p><p> “Jesus, must’ve been a real bore.” Nate said and he agreed. They exchanged more small talk, sharing news and laughing at jokes they threw between. </p><p> “I almost forgot! Elena, I got you something.” Sam said loudly and went to get the case from where Nate had placed it in the hallway. Nate smiled at Elena as she expressed interest, playing with her fingers and smiling as Sam handed her her present. </p><p> “You shouldn’t have.” She thanked him. “This is heavy!” </p><p> “Well, open it, don’t keep us in suspense!” Nate nudged her, he too a bit impatient. She shushed him as she chuckled, teasing him by calling him a child on his birthday. When she saw the typewriter, she stared in awe at the detail and the golden trimmings on the keys.</p><p> “This is beautiful! How on earth did you find this?” She placed it on the coffee table, pushing aside some books that ate up the space.</p><p> “Antique shop.”</p><p> “Sam, please don’t tell me you spent a bunch of money for it.” Said Elena.</p><p> “Um, please tell me you did.” Nate followed, earning a slap on the arm by his wife. Sam laughed, hands raised in surrender.</p><p> “All I’m going to say is, for that?” He pointed to the machine. “It was a really good price.”</p><p> He suggested she try writing on it, as it was suitable for use and Nathan seemed very agreeing on the matter, jumping from his seat to get a sheet of white paper. After it was put in, they spend a few minutes trying to figure out how everything worked without risking breaking something. Elena gestured to Nathan for him to write first and, with glee, he typed a few random words, testing the keys as they smoothly clicked.</p><p> A Fighter Rose In Turmoil</p><p> When he reached to the first ring, he relished the sound and gave it to Elena to try. A grin was eminent on her face.</p><p> “Feeling poetic today honey?” She teases, he shrugged. Placing the typewriter back in its case, Elena brought beers, giving one to Sam and another one at Nathan before drinking from her own. Making himself at home, the elder Drake relaxed with his family, watching a movie that lead to drinking more than a few bottles. Later on, after settling on the couch, and the couple retreated to their room for the night, tipsy and flirty, they all slept. </p><p> A glass that was on the kitchen counter screeched as it dragged over to the edge, moving on its own accord, moonlight breaking through the thickness of the clouds and illuminating through the curtained window. The smashing of the empty glass travelled throughout the house and Sam woke startled from his place on the couch. Not even a minute passed before Nathan came down to see what happened.</p><p> “Did you leave a glass on there?” Elena asked from behind him as he bent over to pick up the glass, careful not to cut himself. Sam yawned, still confused.</p><p> They dismissed it as drunken placement, stating they maybe drunk a bit more than they thought they did and returned to their places after the mess was cleaned. Sam sat back on the sofa, an awful feeling on the bottom of his stomach as he froze. He did not dare to look behind him. Either he should cut the drinks, or his instinct was truly warning him to not turn around. Heart clenching, he laid down facing away from the kitchen, shutting his eyes and forcing himself to sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next morning, when they all had woken up, they sat at the dining table eating their breakfast. Faint dark circles under their eyes from the disturbance last night, especially Sam, who had particular difficulty in resting thanks to unwanted things. Nathan tapped his fingers on the wood, eyes darting between the others, who kept their heads down to focus on the food.</p><p> “Okay, listen, I don’t want to freak you out but how can a glass fall by itself?” He finally said. Elena shook her head.</p><p> “Precarious placement.” She replied.</p><p> “There’s no way it was that.” He countered then looked at Sam, waiting for him to speak up and defend him. He looked at them, sighing through his nose as he leaned back in his chair.</p><p> “I don’t know.” He paused. “What? Do you want me to say it was a ghost or something?” He said, exasperated as Nathan gave him a disbelieving glance.</p><p> “Considering the things I’ve seen on my adventures it isn’t impossible.”</p><p> “Oh come on!”</p><p> “Both of you stop!” Elena cut them off. “You do realize you are freaking out over a glass, right?”</p><p> “Yes, one that fell on its own, in the middle of the night!” He scoffed.</p><p> Elena opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by a scream that came from the street. Jumping up automatically, dressed in their plain clothing and not bothering to get their jackets, they ran outside, where a small crowd was collected outside the neighboring house. Hesitant staring and anxiously stepping around on the pavement, they went past a woman that was calling the police. </p><p> “Oh my god.” Elena gasped as she took in the sight, standing on her toes to see what everybody was looking at.</p><p> The body of a middle aged man was splayed out on the porch, head hanging unnaturally down the first step, a look of horror etched on his face, though his eyes appeared to be gouged out, trails of blood staining his cheeks. His fingernails were mutilated as the front door hung open, red marks painting the carved wood that was scratched deeply.</p><p> “Holy shit.” Sam whispered, shock on his features as he examined the body from where they were. Nathan grabbed him by the shoulder, making him turn to him as he spoke.</p><p> “Do you think somebody was in the house yesterday?” He said. Sam shook his head negatively.</p><p> “I doubt that, we did not see anyone, I was next to the kitchen, remember?” </p><p> Not much else was said, soon enough the police had arrived and with efficiency pushed the people back and convinced them to return to whatever they were doing and that they would ask the neighbors a few questions in a while.</p><p> “This holiday took an abrupt turn.” Stated Nathan as they cleaned whatever leftover food they had left on the table, appetite understandably gone.</p><p> “I say we lock all doors and windows tonight, to be sure.” Elena thoughtfully hummed, still shaken by the event that had occurred, despite her seeing all kinds of strange stuff since getting involved with her now husband.</p><p> “Before that, let’s see if there is any breaches on the locks.” They did just that, checking upstairs and more specifically the kitchen window and the back door. Nothing was out of place.<br/> Silence took over for a bit over half an hour, with Sam tapping his foot incessantly and the urge to smoke swirling in his mind, he tried to distract himself by the eeriness of the situation. A glass smashing in the middle of the night, nobody appeared to be there, no tinkering on the locks and now a murder. </p><p> A knock brought them back to reality, all of them going to the front where they met with two police officers, greeting them and inquiring their state of good. After that was over, they begun with a series of questions, their whereabouts, any strange presences they wanted to note. Sam excused himself before talking.</p><p> “Okay, this may sound dumb or, I don’t know, but during the night a glass fell by itself.” They looked at him in wonder before sharing a pondering glance behind him.</p><p> “May we see?” Curiosity was evident, and as they allowed them to come in, they explained further what had happened, but also mentioned that Sam was within the same room and he did not see anyone.</p><p> “Perhaps you don’t remember seeing anyone, but you did? Being half-asleep may do that sometimes.” One policeman said. Sam nodded, thinking it a logical option, but he kept down the truth that he was alert with a strange spurt of adrenaline.</p><p> “If it is alright with you, could we have a team investigate? You are the only ones who mentioned something out of the ordinary.” The hours that followed were swallowed by the coming and going of police, a question here and there and no peace for them. In the end, they found nothing and with slight disappointment that it was a useless waste of time, the police left, leaving behind tape and prohibiting the entrance of anybody on the neighboring property.</p><p> “That lead to nothing and the day is almost over.” Nathan complained, pointing to the sunset that showered the roofs and the nature with orange and red colors. Elena put her hand up to stop him.</p><p> “I don’t know about you, but I think we should just lock everything, take a deep breath and relax. Everything is going to be okay.” Her eyes carried love for him and she gave him a kiss on the cheek for reassurance, making him sigh a bit and nod, to believe that through all this, life moved on.</p><p> “I say we don’t drink for tonight.” Sam said, reluctant as he looked at the fridge where the beers were probably stacked.</p><p> “It’s not like we have many more, we drank most of them last night.” Elena replied. They searched for other means of comfort and killing time with the element of fun returning to the mood. <br/> By midnight they turned in, exhausted from the whole ordeal. Nathan was still restless, looking from the ceiling to Elena and back again, eyes heavy yet no sleep came, underlying worry was etched to his head and though his limbs were heavy his heart beat fast in his chest and his breaths had become silent puffs. The comforter warmed him, soothed him and lured him in to rest. <br/> There was thumping coming from the hall. Only he heard it as his wife kept sleeping and he knew Sam was too, since he had not heard anyone coming up to check.</p><p> Thump. Thump. Thump.</p><p> The bedroom door was shut, he had adjusted to the dark and he could see it clearly. He was aware something was about to open the door. He wanted to shake Elena awake and go out the window to leave. He could not move, white noise in his ears and the piercing sound of a knock on his door. Teasing jiggling of the doorknob. He thought he heard a laugh. It was deep, baritone, in no way human. He could almost hear the tiny scratches on the floor outside. </p><p> 'A Fighter Rose In Turmoil. Smart little human.'</p><p> Came a whisper by his side.</p><p> Nathan turned slowly, time seemed to slow.</p><p> The voids captured him. He could see bloodlust in them.</p><p> “Nathan!” Elena shook him, Sam came barreling through their door. The room was bright, it was daytime and it comforted him to some degree, but he was still disoriented as his brother came to his side.</p><p> “Hey, you okay little brother?” He placed his hand on his shoulder. Elena sighed in relief.</p><p> “Oh my god, you scared me.”</p><p> “What happened?” He said, mumbling as he looked around. “Where is it?”</p><p> “Where is what? Nate, you would not wake up!”</p><p> “That creature.” </p><p> Elena and Sam, disturbed as they were, got him up and gave him some water to help him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! Thank you for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had horns rooting on the broken skin of its head, skin thin and stretched over the bone with the stress of just tearing with slight movement. The color was dark, it seemed to emit smoke, freshly charred to nothing yet it was not bothered. The body was a blur, Nathan did not catch much of it when he was stuck looking at its eyes. Though it was as burnt as the rest of it. He would be lying if he said that it was not the scariest thing he had ever faced in his vulnerable state, in bed and tired, unarmed. In addition, Elena was sleeping next to him and he was in no shape to protect her, which was even more stressful. </p><p> When he explained all he knew, Sam and Elena were staring apprehensively.</p><p> “A demon?” Said the older Drake, she scoffed in disbelief.</p><p> “Really?” She deadpanned. </p><p> “Certainly sounds like a demon.”</p><p> Nathan looked about him, thinking as he became grounded again. He caught sight of the suitcase that carried the typewriter.</p><p> “A fighter rose in turmoil. Smart little human.” All noise was blocked, he couldn’t hear the banter between his brother and his wife, the case seemed to taunt him. Distorted. Static came to his ears and settled deep into his drums, he could feel all the blood in his body freeze, running in his arteries thickly and staggering as an invisible force fought him. </p><p> “Nate! God damn it!” Sam brought him back, standing in front of him, knees bent and a hand resting on his shoulder. Nothing had changed, it was all his imagination playing with his fear.</p><p> “You were mumbling something.” He continued. Nate stuttered, the words he wanted to speak were not coming out, they stayed unsaid. Was that thing watching them? Was it going to kill them?</p><p> Did it kill the neighbor yesterday?</p><p> “Sam!” Nathan felt a flash of adrenaline ran through him, a spurt of bravery that agitated his mind to do something. Sam pulled back with surprise, Elena jumped in her place with a start at the sudden outburst. They both waited for him to finish what he had in his head, looking at him as he grimaced and shoved his face in his hands to hide.</p><p> “You can talk Nathan.” Elena whispered to him comfortingly, her breath tickling his ear as she leaned close to rest her cheek on his shoulder. Sam threw her a worried glance, but she only closed her eyes and focused on the warmth under her, tense and a heart that echoed clearly in his ribcage.</p><p> “Afrit.” Said Nate finally, swallowing dryly as he turned to his wife.</p><p> “So, a demon, as I said.” Sam pondered, pacing around the room.</p><p> “Not just every demon either. It’s a demon that comes from the blood of the victims of murder.” It fell into place, the man that was found yesterday was not killed by the demon, but was killed by the hands of another human being that conducted such a horrific crime. Sam looked at Nate, a grin on his lips as if he had figured it all out.</p><p> “Then why is it tormenting Nate?” Elena asked, eyebrows furrowed and her words exasperated, as the whole situation appeared to be beyond their understanding.</p><p> “I wrote its name the same moment the murder happened…” Muttered Nathan, sighing in defeat. “A fighter rose in turmoil. Afrit.” </p><p> </p><p> They ascended to the second level of the house, where Elena had her computer in her work dedicated room, decorated with all sorts of pictures and cameras. They searched on the internet ways to kill a demon, all ways just appeared to be the cliché ‘throw salt and it shall be gone’ and ‘holy water’, however they knew this would not be as simple as that. A demon was superior to them in strength, engaging in fights would not be smart unless they wanted to be ripped to shreds. The two brothers appeared to have dived into a hole of endless search, while Elena was waiting for them to allow her for her own input. After a good fifteen minutes, she had had enough. </p><p> “Sam, Nate… Search its name and I’m sure it will show more than you randomly writing ‘how to kill a demon.’. There are literally hundreds of demons, I doubt all of them can be ended by the same tactic.” They listened to her, as they should and immediately, different sources on Afrit popped up on the webpage. The pictures showed a creature that was engulfed in fire, horns and haunting eyes, just as Nate had seen it, only the fire was not there. He guessed it was just a misconception from whoever drew the image.</p><p> “Look at this fellow.” Murmured Sam, studying the text carefully. “Is it just me or is it extremely easy to get rid of him?” </p><p> The paragraph consisted of two options, one was magic, which they did not have and the second one was to put a nail in the blood of the victim that was murdered. </p><p> “Well, better go get a packet of nails.” Nathan said, straightening his back and clapping his hands together, decision made.</p><p> A slam rattled the house, the door of the room shut with intense strength. Their hearing was obstructed with a shallow ring from it. Their chests clenched in fear, all eyes on the door that stayed closed with profound innocence. A deep chuckle came from behind, shivers traveling through their spines and chills raising the hair on their necks.</p><p> ‘I don’t think so.’ The voice spoke, rumbling. Elena gasped as see gazed out the window, a black smoke took over the sky, the sun turned red. Mist covered everything, she could not see anything but the front garden of the house, even if she squinted, it was like an abyss of nothing but white and black. Sam looked around him, for anything that could serve as weapon despite knowing it was useless against a supernatural creature like this one. </p><p> “There’s a switchblade behind those cameras!” Elena said, noticing right away the urgency in Sam’s posture. She pointed to her bookcase that displayed her cameras manufactured in different decades. The elder Drake ran to it and shoved his hands behind them, eventually finding the small knife.</p><p> “It won’t do much.” Nathan said, back against the door and feet firm on the ground in case Afrit decided to ram it. Elena rushed to help him.</p><p> “Okay, if we all attack him at once, we’re bound to do something, right?” Sam suggested. Not having any other idea, they suppressed the stress in their mind as much as they possibly could, seeing as the danger they were in was not very lighthearted. Sam would go first, as he held the knife, then Nathan and finally Elena.</p><p> “Alright.” Sam breathed deeply, hands shaking relentlessly and Nate was scared for his brother, wishing this was just a very lucid nightmare or he had been drugged and this was just his own brain fucking with his sanity. They creaked the door open, peaking out to the hallway that had picked up an ominous aura, a heavy feeling in their stomachs. Sam stepped outside, examining the surrounding area to make sure they were alone, not far from them there was the staircase. Across from them was the bedroom, although something bugged them. It did not feel right. Even the ground beneath their feet stood different. </p><p> “Sam!” Nathan and Elena screamed as he was pushed, his whole body jerking forward. He met with the wall in an explosion of pain. His eyes snapped back where the demon was perched over him, looking down at him with pointy teeth.</p><p> ‘Silly human.’ </p><p> Nathan shouted as he ran. He pushed at Afrit, it staggered on its feet in surprise, not expecting a human to so bluntly attack. Sam picked up the knife. It was distracted enough time for him to stab its leg. He collected himself in a matter of seconds, ignoring the pain as adrenaline was doing its work and got away from the creature, Nate next to him. They only had one problem.</p><p> It was standing between them and Elena. Her eyes wide as she focused on them, the demon’s back in front of her, but it paid her no heed, its attention solely on the two men.</p><p> “Go to the bedroom!” Nathan told her, making a wild gesture with his arm to emphasize his point. She did not hesitate, she ran to the room and closed the door, leaving them and the Afrit, the wicked demon grinning in enjoyment. It relished their torment. Then it opened its mouth, jaw unhinging and a piercing screech made them cover their ears.</p><p> The house shook, the lights flickered. Darkness filled the room and it charged. Sam got in its way to keep Nathan from getting hurt. He prepared himself for impact. He felt his insides twist.</p><p> Then nothing. The demon was nowhere in sight. Nathan and Sam held each other in a hug establishing their wellbeing, newfound relief hanging in them, but the unsettling sensation remained untouched, there was still something extremely wrong happening.</p><p> “Elena!” Nate got to the room, opening it, expecting to see his wife. What he saw was the front garden and the blinding mist. He shook his head. He thought himself mad, until he checked back at Sam, who was as disbelieving as he was.</p><p> As he made his way out, he looked up at his own house, his heart stopped. What was supposed to be a lovely home, had turned into a tower of nightmares.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ambience of whistling breeze, an alleviated sensation in his feet, the air seemed thick in his lungs. Nathan exhaled shakily at the sight of this monstrosity he called home. Sam was in an equal amount of shock as he stared over his shoulder, reaching out to his brother to stable himself from the weight of everything. The realization that this was probably the most fucked up thing they ever had happen in their lives. They craned their necks up to see the roof, but it was obscured by the mist. The building swayed in their eyes, and they feared that if it tipped too far it would snap and crumble into nothing, consumed by the unseen.</p><p> “We must find Elena.” Said Nathan, a strange tinge of anger in his chest as he thought of the demon that sadistically threw them into this world of madness. Sam remained silent as his brother brushed past him with newfound bravery, the need to meet with his wife again the fuel that moved him. They entered again, greeting the hallway that led to the living room and kitchen, on their left the stairs that supposedly led up to the second floor, but now they doubted it would be that simple. They searched around, expecting to see the demon again, or any sign that Elena had been through here, however there was an evident gloominess that had grown over the room, the things were not in the same places they remembered.<br/> “Where is the typewriter?” Sam said, standing over by the television where they had left the case last. Nathan sighed heavily, head producing a mild headache from the confusion he was feeling. </p><p> “Let’s think about this again.” Nathan begun, pacing with his hands on his hips. “Our neighbor was murdered, my house turned into a nightmare, I am separated from my wife and there’s a demon on our asses probably trying to kill us.”</p><p> “Seems about right.” Sam slid in, earning a glare by the other man.</p><p> “Look,” He sighed. “We have to find something that can serve as a weapon, then we have to go up.” He pointed to the ceiling with his finger, lips pulled in a tight line. Ascending was their only option here, they could not sit around and wait for it to end.</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p> “Nathan? Sam?” Elena said in a whisper, volume low as she poked her head through another door, in an attempt to not attract the demon’s attention, but also looking for the brothers. In front of her was yet another bathroom, she did not even bother getting in, she shut the door and opened it again to meet with a bedroom.</p><p> “What the hell…” She was exhausted, with constant stress clouding her mind, fear that any moment the demon would pop out of thin air and strangle her or something amongst those lines. Since she had gone to the bedroom Nathan told her to go with Afrit between them, she had exited again to find the front yard and a tower on her back. One thing lingered on her consciousness, she had to find a way to communicate with somebody, preferably Sully and put an end to this whole thing. She examined the bed and side table’s drawers once more, to find something useful as she would keep searching around the tower with the creature stalking her, but she found nothing. She tried to remember what happened to her switchblade, if Sam had managed to keep it or if it was stuck in its leg. It had not appeared to be in pain, only surprised by their persistence in fighting back, a demon would probably deem itself above everything else. She scoffed, her hands still empty of anything that could help. She wondered whether it thought of her as weak or not, looking over her shoulder at all times for any sign, even though the only sound surrounding her was the creaks and the sway of the building, which was flimsy under her feet and drove her through a fit of reluctance every time she took a step for fear of it breaking.</p><p> Elena had climbed more than five staircases, many times it just seemed to loop back onto the second floor’s hallway with the three rooms, her study, the bathroom and the bedroom. She warily stared at the stairs she was faced with as she exited the room, going down into the dark, her eyes appeared to refuse to make out the ground that awaited her. She began her walk, hand on the railing and she kept going. Down-</p><p> </p><p> Down-</p><p> </p><p> Down-</p><p> </p><p> Up-</p><p> Up?</p><p> Her body was going up the stairs, into an endless corridor of steps that moaned under her weight. She could not fully stretch her arms to touch the walls, crammed into this short space with her breath caught in her throat as she began to feel the pressure of that tiny liquid-like emotion in her body, her eyes burning with tears she did not even notice as she abruptly turned around to meet with a wall. She could only go forward, up to uncharted waters. Another wall met her as she slammed into it, catching her unguarded as salty trails fell down her cheeks. Four obstacles, above her a dim light, she focused upon it to forget that she was trapped.</p><p> Glass flew over her as she cried out in desperation. The light was out.</p><p> Black, an endless abyss. She reached out with a trembling hand to touch the hardness of the barrier around her, but it met with nothing. Her breaths came in short gasps, she clutched her hands to her chest. What was happening. Where was Nate. Where was she. </p><p> Was she dead? </p><p> She put her foot ahead, her knees would give out any moment, before it was grounded she pulled it back to where it was. Was there anything to hold her? Her eyelids shut, nothing changed, black. She opened them again- Black. </p><p> No air, no sense of movement.</p><p> It was a void of loneliness and it overcame her that people were truly helpless, the world is too big and they are just a speck of dust. </p><p> Silence. It was so quiet she almost thought she had lost her hearing, her breathing was inaudible. </p><p> Emptiness. It was like everything was wiped from existence.</p><p> Fear. It was a powerful weapon. The fear of the unknown. </p><p> Then gravity overwhelmed her. Elena screamed in horror as she felt herself fall, but no wind was there to sweep at her hair or her clothing, they remained perfectly still.</p><p> Yet, she was going down, she could sense it in herself. Her heart leapt and her voice muted. Her hands frantically reached out to grab onto something, her eyes darted. She just wanted it to end.</p><p> She sat up with blurry sight, crying and mumbling to herself for someone to get her out of this. The bed was as she remembered, but the door, it was open to a staircase that went up. She felt anger- Fury filtered her blood. Her mind was filled with one thing, determination to put an end to this. She stood with her fists clenched, seething and glaring at the stairs. </p><p> She was not weak.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope I did good enough. Had to throw some Lovecraft in there. :)</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm a slow writer, I have to admit, and with the constant worry I feel that I will forget the English I learned all these years it makes me wonder if I write well.(Not a native speaker) </p><p> I must say though that this is not my best efforts in writing, I write fanfiction for fun, though I do want to take my time and present something good in future works. </p><p> Anyways, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ambience. There was nothing more disgusting than the fact that a demon was playing with its meal, or victims. Nathan kept his ear on the door in the bathroom he and his brother had locked themselves in after an encounter with Afrit. From outside he heard nothing, no sound of feet on the floorboard or the crackling of its bones that could give away the presence. </p><p> “Nothing?” Sam whispered, pressing himself against the wall with a knife they grabbed from the kitchen, knuckles white from the amount of strength he gave squeezing the handle. A sigh left Nathan, rubbing his aching head and stepping away from the door. They had yet to find any trace of Elena, not that they had much of a chance in exploring since they were chased away from the first floor onto at least the forth, but the whole place just seemed empty of life, a shadow of the home that it was before. </p><p> “Let’s keep going.” Nathan walked out peaking in all directions to make sure they were alone, Sam looked down at the knife, raising a questioning eyebrow at the strange glint that morphed into the silver, a blur and a bloom of rust like a parasite.</p><p> “What the-” From the ceiling, a patch of red dropped on the blade, a metallic smell to it. His attention snapped up, where a puddle formed and dripped around him on the floor, as if something was profusely bleeding in the room above. Sam gulped the small bile that threatened to climb in his throat, sure, he had seen blood before, but something about this was different. With hesitant fingers, he touched a droplet, thick and clumpy.</p><p> “Uh- Nate?” He turned to his brother, whose shoulders were slumped over, standing in the middle of the hallway. He cautiously approached, but in the pit of his stomach he already knew something was wrong, this is not what he thought it was. He touched his back.</p><p> It was cold and trembling. He pulled away as if burned, a trail of ash fell from the spot he touched. Fear settled in then, worry for his brother, or whatever this thing in front of him was. The decoy turned, forcing eye contact with empty sockets and a bleeding nose, meeting with its mouth, lips torn away to expose the flesh that held on the roots of its teeth. The cold reached the base of his mind, inducing chills on his arms and his hair to stand on end. A tongue shot out from between, split in half and horrifically mutilated to twist the ends and pull on the damaged skin painfully. The sounds of squishy flesh tickled his ears and with disgust boiling inside him Sam dashed past it, slamming through another door and jumping up the stairs that were presented. He shut the door and dragged a piece of furniture to barricade it, as he found himself in another living room. He leaned against it, hand over his chest as he gagged, it constricting painfully as he heaved, but his stomach was empty, and only acid escaped him. </p><p> “Where is he. Where is he. Where. Is. Nate.” The words came out as short gasps and for a moment he thought himself delirious. A missing piece in his heart as he slid down to the floor, the apparent weight of having nobody to watch his back and the wonder of what had happened to his brother’s wellbeing. A connection was made, looking down at his fingers, where the blood was smudged, he wiped it away manically. </p><p> It was Nathan’s.</p><p> That was the difference. </p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p> “Nathan! Sam!” The feminine voice bounced through the halls and rooms to collide with the evident vacancy of human presence. With burning muscles, her knees felt elated as if she was fresh out of a workout by all the running and frantic search she had done. Sweat beaded on her forehead and strands of hair stuck to her neck. She felt disgusting, but it was the least of her worries in this stupid game she unwillingly participated in. A clank came from somewhere in the tower, her head snapped towards the sound so fast she gasped at the pain in her neck, pressing her fingers to sooth it. </p><p> She cursed to herself, knowing well she was getting nowhere and her only chance was to find help of some kind. Her thoughts travelled back to their phones, surely they had to be somewhere around the tower, and pray that they worked. </p><p> A living room came to view when Elena had caught her breath and started on to her quest, going up another set of stairs and fumbling with every object she could find. She focused on the table, where they usually left their personal items. She saw her phone was there and sighed in relief, pressing the power button and staring the black screen with a grin on her face. She pressed it again. The smile faded as her jaw went slack. It was not turning on.</p><p> “Shit!” She wanted to scream, but she bit it down so she would not gain any attention from anyone, even if that was her husband or her brother-in-law, there was more potent danger lurking on ever shadow that she should not engage with. She swallowed the small defeat with enmity and moved on. Another hour buzzed by with her inspecting rooms unfettered in the grasps of fear. She could do this, she thought, shivering at the sight of blood on the floor in a bathroom she came across dripping from above in a huge patch slowly drying up and indicating that it had been there for a while. Not dwelling on it she found a living room and yet again, a phone that was dead.</p><p> “This is gonna take a while.”</p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p> The sky was blue, sun melting away the cold on the skin a little. Traffic was lively, countless heads of pedestrians walking aimlessly and chatting, drinking hot cocoa in the coffee shops and enjoying their day in the spirit of winter and the holidays. The man grunted as he carried the bag that contained a few of his belongings, pulling onto his coat a bit closer to his body, he bumped into a few people to which he apologized, throwing a wink at the ladies that smiled in return. Looking down the road for any means of transportation, he hailed a cab and hastily sat inside, the young driver pulled back onto the road with the address he was given on the GPS.</p><p> “How have you been sir?” The youngster casually started conversation.</p><p> “Well son, if my back is to answer, it’s saying I’m getting too goddamn old for this.” Victor Sullivan laughed heartily, earning a shy grin from the boy before he turned his attention out the window, arms over his chest as he anticipated the surprise the others would feel when he showed up after being away for work for a couple of months.</p>
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